Chorionic Structures in Maternal Blood

Chorionic villi are the exchange structures of the placenta where human fetuses receive oxygen and nutrients from maternal blood, this article reports an improvement of a published method to recover them from the blood of pregnant, women, quotes their number and illustrates their size and trypsin impregnation. The reasons to explain the presence of chorionic structures and villi in the circulating maternal blood, the possible significance of their existence in maternal blood and the mechanisms to remove them are discussed. Their size and trypsin impregnation are illustrated. This paper discusses the significance of the presence of such allogeneic structures in the circulating blood of pregnant women and presents a brief discussion on the role of trypsin and its inhibitor in pregnancy homeostasis

Family eating and physical activity practices among African American, Filipino American, and Hispanic American families: Implications for developing obesity prevention programs

Overweight and obesity among children and adults is well-documented as an escalating problem. The purpose of this study is to determine the blood pressure, self-esteem, and eating and physical activity practices among African Americans, Filipino Americans, and Hispanic Americans; and project implications for development of childhood obesity prevention programs. This descriptive study was conducted in a convenience sample of 110 mothers recruited in health clinics and community centers located in Southeast Florida: 19% African Americans, 26% Filipino Americans, and 55% Hispanic Americans. The data, collected via self-administered questionnaires and a guided interview (Family Eating and Activity Habits Questionnaire, Rosenberg’s Self-Esteem Scale, Background Information Questionnaire), were analyzed via descriptive and inferential statistics with findings significant at p \u3c .05. Results revealed differences and similarities in eating and activity practices between Filipinos and Blacks or Hispanics. Blood pressure and self-esteem did not differ by ethnicity; however, overweight mothers tended to have overweight children. The results point clearly to the importance of the mothers’ role modeling in eating and physical activity practices of families, reflecting the influence of mothers’ behaviors in children’s healthy behaviors, albeit family health. Given that mothers own physical exercise and eating habits could influence their children’s physical activity levels and food choices, a parental advice strategy could be disseminated directly to parents by health professionals. Study findings may raise public awareness of the increasing prevalence and consequences of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents, particularly among vulnerable ethnic groups. The findings provide a database for nurse practitioners and other health service providers for the development of culturally sensitive focused public health education programs to prevent or control obesity

Creating a Culture of Organizing: ACTWU\u27s Education for Empowerment

[Excerpt] Providing rank-and-file members opportunities to participate and learn from their own experiences in organizing other workers is not only a very powerful educational tool. It also goes a long way in creating a culture of organizing when it is part of an overall education program, driven by the union\u27s strategic goals

The Space of Experience in the Architecture of Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton realiza tres exposiciones en el Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) en el Londres de los años 50, participando del ambiente interdisciplinar del Independent Group. Estos montajes exploran la transformación de la sala a través de la construcción de estructuras que incentivan la participación activa del espectador. A partir del estudio realizado, para el que se reconstruyen estas propuestas siguiendo su lenguaje técnico original, se analiza cómo los montajes de Hamilton siguen un proceso evolutivo, en el que parte de la exploración de la forma a partir de patrones de crecimiento natural, continúa elevando la técnica a herramienta creativa y concluye con la formulación del espacio de interacción con el espectador. Este último montaje, an Exhibit, sintetiza los hallazgos de los anteriores, dando lugar a una propuesta arquitectónica a modo de tablero de juego que es protagonizada por la experiencia vivida de sus visitantes. Esta arquitectura es una estructura soporte que se genera a partir de un crecimiento orgánico ilimitado de un módulo estandarizado, de combinaciones variables y cambiante a cada momento por sus ocupantes. Los espacios expositivos de Hamilton recogen influencias de las vanguardias y tienden puentes hacia propuestas arquitectónicas contemporáneas entendidas como soporte para la incentivación de la experiencia de sus habitantes.Richard Hamilton held three exhibitions at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London in the 1950s, participating in the interdisciplinary environment of the Independent Group. These exhibitions explored the transformation of the room through the construction of structures that encouraged the active engagement of the viewer. Based on the study carried out, for which these proposals are reconstructed following their original technical language, an analysis is made of how Hamilton’s montages follow an evolutionary process, in which the exploration of form based on patterns of natural growth continues to elevate the technique to a creative tool and concludes with the formulation of the space of interaction with the spectator. This last montage, an Exhibit, summarised the findings of the previous ones, giving rise to an architectural proposal in the form of a game board whose focal element is the experience of its visitors. This architecture acts as a supporting structure that is generated from an unlimited organic development of a standardised module, with varying combinations, and which constantly changes for its occupants. Hamilton’s exhibition spaces draw on influences from the avant–garde and build bridges towards contemporary architectural proposals understood as a support for incentivising the experience of its inhabitants

Encouraging the Development of Low Bono Law Practices

For decades, the discussion about access to justice has primarily focused on the ability of low–income individuals to obtain free representation by lawyers. Lawyer representation is the “gold star” of the legal profession and advocates of legal services for the poor have fought difficult battles to ensure the most disadvantaged in our country have access to these professionals. As a result, legal aid programs and pro bono services that assist the most economically disadvantaged in our country are now common in our legal service delivery system. Despite those important efforts, only 50% of those eligible for free legal services actually receive them. Traditional access to justice platforms, while critical for offering legal assistance to a segment of the poor, have not been funded at levels that allow them to serve all those who need and qualify for their services. In lieu of lawyers, members of the legal profession have created self–help tools and substitutes for attorneys in the form of general advice hotlines, online document automation programs, and self–help law centers. If the profession correlates justice with lawyer representation, then the majority of average income Americans and a significant segment of the poor, are without it. In 2011 the United States ranked 50th out of 66 developed nations in providing accessibility to its civil justice system to its citizens. In order to address the unmet legal needs of individuals in our country, the legal profession must advance an affordable legal services agenda that includes lawyers who provide competent legal services at reduced or “low bono” rates. Increased funding to help the poor and efforts to provide greater accessibility through the use of technology are efforts that can help bridge our justice gap. However, such efforts are limited in their scope. To make additional gains into providing more access to law, we need to devote attention to a segment of our society that currently receives no support and can potentially also benefit the near poor who go in and out of poverty. According to the research of an expert on U.S. poverty, “nearly 40 percent of Americans between the ages of 25 and 60 will experience at least one year below the official poverty line during that period and 54 percent will spend a year in poverty or near poverty (below 150 percent of the poverty line).” These figures reveal that a larger segment of the population requires a legal system that understands the fluidity of poverty and their financial instability. A lower–cost legal service delivery system must exist for those priced out of free services who need lawyers to get them back into a more stable financial reality. Law practices that offer services at low bono rates offer a lawyer alternative to the more than 81.4 million households that earned less than the median income of $51,017 in 2012. Many of these individuals make less than$25 per hour but make too much to qualify for free legal services. Like the poor, Americans of average means need lawyers to advise them about legal issues that arise in their everyday lives but many of them cannot afford lawyers who charge hourly rates that exceed $300 per hour. This chapter explores the need to build the framework that encourages the development of low bono law practices. Part I helps us understand low bono and why it is a necessary component of a broader legal service delivery system. Part II discusses the challenges that lawyers face in building and maintaining low bono practices. It addresses the financial challenges of running low bono practices and identifies the necessary components for developing viable low bono business plans. Part III outlines the framework the legal profession can and should build to support low bono law practices. It addresses the assumption that an affordable legal fee necessitates a lower quality service. It calls law schools, bar associations and courts to devote resources to build the necessary infrastructure for the delivery of legal services to average means Americans. The chapter concludes with a brief reflection of why lawyers may choose to build a career as a low bono lawyer